Sidearal
by TellTheStars
Summary: That night the Athena cabin caught fire. No one knows how. There were no signs of arson, there were no matches, no cigarettes, nothing. Just fire. It killed them all, including Annabeth. There was no proof she was alive... Until now. With the new enemy arising, so does information. Is she really dead?
1. Prologue: Piper

**_Just gonna say this now. The title is pronounced Si-dear-ree-al._**

 ** _I'll explain more at the end._**

 _. . ._

" _There are a million trees blowing in the wind;_

 _Witnesses of lives already lived"_

~Architecture; Jonathan Thulin

. . .

 _ **Piper**_

Golden orange and flames flashed through my mind as the demigods and legacies assembled together out in the pouring rain. Most of them probably never even had a conversation with her before the accident. Some probably never even knew what she looked like. Even with all that, everyone knew what she had done.

She'd face death so many times, sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have been surprised that she was gone.

I caught myself thinking: This was bound to happen one day.

Then I'd say to myself: You say that now because she's gone.

Sometimes, I'd forget that she's gone. I run towards the empty space between the cabins to wake her up in the morning.

It didn't feel real at first. Sure, I saw the flames and felt the heat. I'd watched the roof collapse with a loud rumble that shook the campgrounds. I had felt someone wrap their arms around me, holding me back as screamed and kicked trying to run in and get her.

She's alive, I had yelled. She's alive, we just have to go get her.

I denied it all night and all morning until the cabins remains were finally cool enough for us the check.

We had all gotten together to try and find something that could have caused the fire. We counted to three and then we would move huge pillars off to the side and look for any remains. We'd spent the entire day looking. Some kids had to go to the infirmary because of dehydration.

Including me.

That's when it hit me.

She was gone.

The Apollo kids wouldn't let me leave the infirmary because they said I was too "unstable". Whatever that meant. People came to visit me and calm me down. 5 people stayed especially longer. There was one person who didn't visit that I had expected to. But then I remembered the night before and I made sense that he wasn't here. He was probably in worse shape than I was.

I didn't see him for almost 3 weeks.

He came back from where ever he was and hid in his cabin for a few days. Then when he finally came out for breakfast, he made his rounds and said hello. Ate. Then made his rounds and said goodbye.

He left again. It was like that for awhile. Come and go. Never for more than a day, was he at camp. I was too scared to ask he was doing.

Anyway.

Back to now.

Rows and rows of folding chairs were set up in straight lines, and they were all slowly being filled. I was in the front along with 5 other chairs. Only 4 were filled.

I wanted him to come. He needed to be here today. Not because I needed him, but because he needed us. He couldn't be alone in a time like this. This was no time to be alone.

More familiar faces appeared. There was a group of Satyrs looking to find a seat. I recognized one as her best friend. He was probably doing the same thing I was. Looking for him.

The Hunters of Artemis walked in. The one in the front shared a small smile with the boy next to me. She waved in my direction and found enough seats for her whole crew.

Soon there was no empty seat. Except for one.

A girl walked on a small stage. Her purple cloak blew in the wind. Her eyes squinted as the rain poured harder, mirroring our emotions.

"1 year ago, both camps received a message, a threat, that all children under one goddess were being targeted. All of those kids, 7 and older, were to go to Camp Half-Blood." She paused and looked out into the distance, and shook her head and regained herself, "That night there were many kids in that cabin, it could have just been a coincidence. But with the threat, it didn't seem likely."

I heard footprints coming closer.

"That night," She continued "The cabin caught fire. No one knows how. There were no signs of arson, there were no matches, no cigarettes, nothing."

A man in a black hoodie stopped walking a stared at the stage.

"The roof collapsed. It was too late to save anyone. A wave of water," The women on stage glanced at the man in the hoodie, "crashed on the cabin. And although I was not there myself, I know there was a minute of silence as everyone processed what had just occurred."

"A year ago we all witnessed a horrible tragedy." Reyna announced, as glanced down at Jason, Hazel, Frank, Leo, and I, "It took friends." She looked over the hillside, "It took family." She spared one more glance at the man, "And it took loved ones."

The wind blew the hoodie off of the man's head and revealed a puffy-eyed Percy Jackson.

"But it took one thing from all of us. A Hero." The word rung out across the field and the only noise that was heard was the rain. "A moment of silence for all the children of Athena that were taken." She took a deep breath, "A moment of silence for Hero to Olympus, daughter of Athena, Annabeth Chase."

. . .

 **Would you look at that...**

 **So, hello new friends, and welcome back old friends. This is a rewrite of my story Constellations. I decided last week that I no longer liked how I had written it and I wanted to change things, so I am completely rewriting it. That includes the title. Speaking of the title, once again you say it like Si-dear-ree-al. It means determined by the stars. Or constellations, whichever one works.**

 **Now. Things you will need to know:**

 **No, I don't have an updating schedule because I am rewriting everything so I don't know when it will be done.**

 **The chapter POV's are in the title of the chapter.**

 **Yes, they do change you'll see why in 2 chapters.**

 **You can call me E.T. It's like my screen name because I'm too paranoid to same my name for real.**

 **No, I don't need a beta (Sorry) I use Grammarly.**

 **That's it. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story!**


	2. Chapter 1: Percy

" _There must be something in my lungs that keeps me from breathing;_

 _As deep and full as I once could, now mind starts repeating"_

~Won't give up; Colony House

. . .

 **Percy**

The waves crashed against the dock, hitting my shins with small droplets of water. The sun was high above burning my bare arms.

I stood up on the abandoned dock and collected myself before I made way to see my friends again. I could only hope that the redness in my eyes would go away before I made it to camp.

I closed my eyes and tried to remind myself that she wouldn't want me to upset today. It was a day of celebration to her, even though only a select group of people could tell you why today was unique. She never liked the attention.

I was coming back for the day. Figured if I wasn't there they'd all hunt me down anyway. This is what I do now. Come and go. Each time I come Piper begs me to stay for longer than a night, but I have places to be. Or, at least, that's what I tell them.

I've actually gotten to enjoy places. Only a few monsters, here and there. Gatlinburg is a fun place to go. Spending the day up in the Smokey Mountains, looking down at all the little people, and remembering that you're one of them. You have the exception of your own DNA, (Godly or not) but that's it. Everyone feels the loss even if they haven't yet.

That's usually the time I tell myself, They moved on, now it's your turn.

Well, it's been a year and I can't move on.

I shook my head and decided it was time to put on my mask. Can't let the others see I'm still breaking. No more sightseeing if that happened. They'd never let me leave. My mom would even force me to stay. No, that was a part of me that only I would see. When I was alone.

A familiar house came into eyesight. Laughter sounded out from the children chasing each other around with swords. Probably not something that should have been happening but, hey. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.

There were a lot of people in the courtyard, so classes must have been getting out. Some older campers saw me and waved, others turned and whispered to their friends as I walked by. Some faces looked familiar, others were brand new. Some of the familiar, older ones were all accompanying small children to their next activities. The other ones were catching up with old friends. They were here for the same reason was.

Annabeth's birthday.

There was going to be a small announcement at dinner for the younger campers, and then the senior counselors and campers would get to stay up past curfew and celebrate her birthday. And she wouldn't even be there.

Today she should have been 19. Once our birthday plans would backfire, she would have mentioned how any birthday is better than the one she spent in Tartarus. Then everyone would laugh and tell her how funny she was. I would pull close and kiss her forehead. That's how it would go.

Would.

Anyway.

I made my way towards the cabins. I was far away yet I could already see the empty spot in between the cabins. Camp Half-Blood never needed to redo the cabin because Athena said she would have no more children for fear they would also be killed. She also swore there were no other kids under her. That they were all gone. That was at least what I heard. I wasn't there when this announcement was made. Piper was the one who told me.

Speaking of Piper, as I made my way towards my own cabin, she was doing the same.

The brunette was darker than she had been in the winter. Her choppy brown hair was shoulder length. She was wearing jean shorts, a CHB t-shirt, and a bronze chest plate. She was carrying a basket of strawberries. Most likely freshly picked. And judging by the small droplets on her hands, they were also freshly washed. The only weird thing about her was that she was covered head to toe in glitter.

She spotted me seconds after I saw her. Her smiled widened, as did mine. Strawberries still in her hands she jumped and hugged me. She pulled me back and took a long look at me.

Piper had been looking out for me ever since Annabeth died. She would keep track of where I was and send me letters (when she knew where I was). I would send her postcards from wherever I was. She wasn't the only one I did this to. But she was the only who responded. She is like my sister now, she just comforts me whenever she sees that sad look in my eyes.

She pulled away and held me at arm's length, "I didn't think you'd come."

"It's like you said in your last letter, it's just one of those days when you can't be alone." She had sent me a letter explaining how if I didn't show up she'd have Nico find me. No doubt that's where she was headed if she didn't see me today. "Quick question, is this a fashion statement or...?" Gesturing to the glitter.

She looked down as if she wasn't aware of how much she sparkled, and laughed, "Arts and craft were right after I got out of the Arena, I didn't have to change."

"And the strawberries-"

"Were handed to me as I was on my way here." She finished. "I don't even know who gave to me they just shoved them in my hands and said, 'Wash'em for me, will ya.' Yeah, okay. Doing your job for you I guess. Want one?"

A grabbed a few out of the basket, "That's what we do here in the summer. Procrastinate."

"Yes, us demigods who are always being chased by monsters, are in no way shape or form not lazy. Constantly sitting down and never any physical acti-"

I reached forward and tickled her, "Okay! I get it! Were not lazy!"

"Stop!" She giggled and I let go. Piper reached forward and grabbed my hand, "Come on. The others will want to see you, too."

. . .

She led me to the Counselors suite. Which is misleading because all that was in there was a couch, a rug, and a half-bathroom. Chiron had it built so that all the Senior Counselors could hang out without small children asking questions every five seconds. The lights didn't even work have the time and the entire place could only fit around 10 people. But it was quiet so we enjoyed it.

Piper opened the door and made her announcement, "Guys, call off the search party. He came to us this time!"

She then pulled me really hard into the cabin.

There were only 5 people there. Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Nico Di Angelo, and Travis and Connor Stoll.

Travis and Connor were the first to react. "PERCY!" Then they squealed like little girls and hugged me. They were both in college yet it's like their still 14.

"Squeal a little louder, how 'bout ya? See if you can break a glass." Jason said standing up.

I pushed Travis and Connor off of me to go see the rest of the guys.

"Hey, guys," I said with a small smile. Nico was standing up to meet me while Leo just sat on the couch and pretended to be looking at his nails.

"You didn't write, you didn't call. You owe me an apology for all the grief you cause me, mister." Leo said without looking up.

I let out a small laugh, "I'm sorry, Leo. Next time, I'll make sure to send you a postcard from Malibu Beach."

"Good," He nodded, "And I expect a T-shirt as well. One of those cheesy lines. Like, 'My friend went to Malibu beach and all he bought me was this lousy T-shirt.' or something." He shrugged.

I looked at the rest of the group who had amused smiles on their face. Except for Nico who was pinching his nose and shaking his head.

We shook hands while I said, "You got it, dude."

We all sat down, Piper and Leo on the couch and the rest of us at their feet. We just talked about life for who knows how long. Piper and Jason were starting College on the West Coast this fall. Leo was in Indianapolis with Calypso. Travis and Connor were both in College still. Nico, like me, had been traveling not North America, but South. He wanted to "see new faces". They had all come to camp this summer to help Chiron out. Although, Leo was heading back in a few weeks to be with Calypso again.

Half-way through our conversation, Travis and Connor both had "important business to attend to" and they need to leave. It was then just the "quest kids" as Leo liked to call it.

It was silent for a few minutes, then Jason broke the ice, "Ready for tonight?"

I looked up to see them all looking at me. Watching to see how I would react. They'd all seen me at the memorial of her death a few months ago. I wasn't in the best place then. I have gotten better since then. At least, I like to think so.

"Um, y-yeah. I mean I probably won't stay very long. Got to visit my mom before I leave again." I said, slightly unsure if I had said the right.

Piper smiled a sweet smile and shook her head, "No. You're staying the night here. End of story. The party isn't starting until after curfew, so it won't be done until at least 2 in the morning. You can see your mom in the morning."

Leo, Jason, and Nico all laughed.

"No denying Piper, Percy," Nico said with a chuckle, "She knows you too well. She might actually chain you to your bed tonight."

I put my hand over my heart, "I feel so attacked!"

After a while, the boys had to head to their next activity so I was just me and Piper. Piper stood up from the couch, the first movement either of us had made in a while. She walked over to the window and stared out at the empty strawberry fields.

"You're not okay with this party, are you?" Piper said, not turning to look at me.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed, "What gave it away?"

"The very few words you had to say about it when Jason asked. Not that I blame you anyway. I'm not too fond of the idea myself." She muttered the last part to herself, but the room was so empty and quiet that it could almost be heard for miles.

I'd always known that out of the 7, Piper had become almost as close to Annabeth, as I did in the 5 years he knew her. I think it's because Piper is so much like Silena, and Annabeth loved Silena.

Loved

Past-tense.

Because both of those people are gone.

Well, that took a wrong turn.

Moving on.

"I know this isn't what she'd want but I can't help but feel obligated to be sad." She started pacing, "She's not here to see the horrible cake Leo tried to bake. So why are celebrating? I rather sit in my cabin and cry." Her eyes started to water, "And when we were planning this Jason asked if I was okay with it, and I said, 'Sure! I'll plan it!' And that was such a mistake! Why did I do that?"

By now Piper was slightly yelling. Tears were hitting the floor. Not just hers but also mine.

"Because you felt like she might be forgotten if you didn't," I said quietly. Piper jerked her head to look at me, "You thought that if she wasn't here to help everyone every day, the memory would go away. And you would do everything you could to make sure she was never misremembered."

Piper was frozen in her spot, "How...?"

"Because I... I don't know," I wiped some of the tears off of my face, "I-Whenever someone close to me dies, they always make me promise something to them. Most of the time it's not being forgotten. I do everything in my effort t-to remember them and to make sure others do the same. Anna-Annabeth was always there beside me making those promises, too. And I t-tried to do the same, but... Sometimes just talking about her would..." I tried to find what I meant by wildly gesturing my hands, "lose it, I guess. I... She never made me promise because she never got the chance and..."

Piper's eyes softened, "Percy. I-I had no idea. I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay." I chuckled a little. "That whole remembering thing, i-it's part of the reason I'm gone all the time. I travel to places we've been. I-I spent 4 weeks in New Jersey once, driving on the same highway everyday all because of something we'd done together."

I rubbed my nose. My face felt tight from all the dried tears, "Sometimes I think about how unhealthy it is. Like, I'll see a sign on the highway for Las Vegas and I'll start crying, which is strange because that's not what I would have done a year ago. Other times I'll pass the Gateway Arch and just pass out laughing.

I get it, Piper. I really do. And it's gonna feel like that for a long time and you're gonna spend your nights thinking that you didn't think of her enough. And it's gonna hurt."

It was too late for me to realize what I'd done. By the time I was going to come up with an excuse as to why I sound do broken, Piper already had her arms around my neck. A heart-wrenching sob came from my neck where Piper had buried her head. That was enough to make me start crying again, too.

We stayed like this for a long while.

Piper pulled away first and sniffed. We were on the floor. She looked at me and started chuckling, "Y-your shirt... I-I'm sorry."

I looked down at my shoulder to see my shoulder was wet with her tears, I started chuckling as well, "You're fine."

There was a knock at the door. Leo peaked his head in the door, and if he noticed how bad we both looked he didn't say anything.

Leo shuffled into the cabin, "Umm, hey, Piper, dinner is about to happen and we need to finish setting up for tonight. Can-"

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She sniffed and rubbed her nose.

Leo looked a little awkward like he wasn't sure what to do with 2 demigods sitting on the floor who had clearly been crying. He just shifted his weight a few time then jabbed his thumb at the door and ran out the door.

A small chuckle came from Piper, and she stood up and brushed her hands against her shorts. "I should get going. I'll see you at dinner right?"

I gave her a short nod and watched her walk out the door.

. . .

I almost missed dinner.

After Piper left I went back to the abandoned dock I was at this morning. I should have known I wouldn't be able to hear the horn from that far away. I realized the sun was halfway down and began to sprint to the dining pavilion. People were still there, but there were barely any plates.

I caught Piper's eyes she gave me a look that said, Are you serious?

I shrugged.

She got up and started over to me. When she got there she handed me a small bag full of... carrots. Great, thanks, Piper. She then brought her hand to my forehead and lightly hit and whispered, "Idiot," under her breath.

I shoved a carrot in my mouth followed her to the campfire.

"You would have liked what Chiron said about Annabeth. It was really sweet. The little kids sang Happy Birthday to her, and the Demeter cabin made a cake. It was much better than the one we're having tonight." She said, not looking at me.

With my mouth full of carrot, I said, "Sorry to have missed it."

"You should be because now you're going to help me set up for the party tonight. We're using the campfire area. The party starts at 9 and will probably go till 2 in the morning. Chiron is holding off the harpies for us tonight. I need you," She turned and shoved her finger in my chest. "To help Leo carry his mess of a cake out here without dropping it. Then I'll give you another job until the party starts. No more wandering off."

"Okay, I got it."

And began my journey to back to the dining pavilion, where Leo was struggling to hold spoons, forks, knives, plates, napkins, and the cake.

"Need some help?"

Leo's head shot up, "Absolutely. You can carry the cake, Mr. Strong Arms and I, Weak Arms will carry everything else."

I raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Strong Arms?"

"I mean, am I wrong?" He shrugged.

I picked up the cake and tilted my head a little, "Fair."

We began our silent tread back to the campfire.

"So... this might be a little insensitive - and you don't have to answer - are you okay? You and Piper look a little" He made a strange face that I can't even begin to describe, "you know?"

I didn't know actually. I got the feeling he was talking about earlier in the Counselor's Suite, but he wasn't making himself clear, especially with whatever that face was meant to be.

"Okay, okay, okay," He shook his head, "You're confused and I can see that. Earlier when I barged in and you guys were sitting on the floor. I'm pretty sure you were both crying. I asked Piper about it but she just stared at me for a few seconds then walked away, but you're helping me carry this cake so you can't run away from me."

I sighed, of course, he noticed that we were upset. Today was not getting any better. "It's... just a hard day, I guess. It's not going the way either of us planned."

"It's because of Annabeth, isn't it? Wait, that's a stupid question. Of course, that's what it's about. It is about... her, right?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, that's it. I guess... I guess we thought we were ready."

"Ready for..."

I slowed to a stop, thought about for a minute, then said, "Ready to face what we've always known. She's gone. We know that, but I guess with everything we've been through, it seemed almost unbelievable that someone as close as Annabeth would actually be gone."

Leo stared over my shoulder, "Yeah, I get it. I-I mean, I don't because I've never felt that" I cocked my head a little to the side, "I mean, yeah my mom and everything. But when she... that happened, I didn't feel that. I don't actually remember what I felt." He shook his head, "Anyway, I was the other side of this situation. I was the death-ee... That came out wrong. You know what I mean. But by the ever-lasting pain in my shoulder, I get the feeling that I had left a mark. Almost everyone in camp came and hit me. I mean, you were there. If I could make that much of an impact on people, in six months, I'm pretty sure Annabeth would have made a bigger one."

The silence stretched between us.

He cleared his throat, "We should get going before Pip-"

"Leo, wait. Thank you. I don't know but somehow, that did something."

Leo blinked as if that was not the reaction he was expecting, "Uh. Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Any time."

We continued on our way back to Piper who was now talking to Jason about... uh, us.

"-sent Percy to go help Leo, because as much as I love Leo, he and that cake are just a disaster waiting to happ- LEO! Hey, we were just talking about you."

"Yes, yes, I know. You sent Percy so that I wouldn't drop my already mess of a cake." Leo rolled his eyes as he set everything down on the table.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've seen worse," I said with a shrug.

"Yes, yes, we've all heard the story," Piper took the cake from my hands, "Annabeth and Tyson made you a cupcake for your birthday and it was quite terrible."

I pointed my finger at her, "Hey, I never said it was terrible I just said it looked like a brick."

"Whatever it was, Percy, I'm sure it looked better than whatever this was supposed to be," Jason said gesturing to the blob of bread and icing sitting on the picnic table.

Leo threw his hands in the air, surrendering, "Okay, I get it! I can cook but can't bake! Next time, ask someone else to bake the cake. I will gladly give up this position."

As our laughter filled the area, I stared a the burning fire that was beginning to be brighter than the setting sun. I felt the warmth. I remember that night. The flames were almost identical. Only one thing was different. Everyone could feel it. And you could tell. PIper's laughter was just a little more blithe, Leo's smile was bigger. Nobody was complaining about party decorations. It was good to feel something other than grief for a just a little bit.

I'd enjoy this night.

I'd enjoy it until the storm hit.

. . .

 **Hey Y'all! I didn't abandon you like most of you probably thought I did!**

 **anyway...**

 **here's something fun! The song "Won't Give Up" by Colony House, is kinda perfect for the first half of this chapter so maybe listen to that. the song has a really sad backstory to it. I suggest you look it up and maybe cry a little.**

 **speaking of crying a little. how was the chapter? poured a ton more time than I should have into this. it looks nothing like the old version, which i'm proud of. when I first wrote the chapter, I hadn't really felt what loss really was. and I right before I wrote the new version I met with my great grandma and she couldn't recognize my face anymore. and while I was writing this I had the worst week of my life, ever. so.**

 **i'm sure I'll post this and then realize I forgot something but until then!**

 **~E.T**


	3. Chapter 2: Annabeth

_"And you find you're holding on to everything you know;_

 _But the strength to move beyond is found in letting go"_

The Sophomore; Ben Rector

. . .

 **Annabeth**

"You missed the turn," Sara said, sitting in the back with her legs crossed and reading an old newspaper.

Nate sighed as he made a sharp turn around the corner, "Yes, Sara, I know. I'm trying to lead them away from her house."

"But if we keep leading them away from Katie's house then we'll never get there, either."

I smiled from the passenger seat, "She's got you there."

Nate huffed in response.

"See. You know I'm right." Sara said putting her paper down to stick her head in the middle of our seats, "So how much longer are we going to drive in circles?"

"Until we can't see them in the rearview mirror."

And it was as simple as that. Just drive until you lose them. It was Nate's very 'strategic' plan. I have to give him credit, though. It usually works for us.

I looked out the window while Sara and Nate continued to argue. It had been almost a year since I'd met them both. It's been a complicated relationship but we're siblings so it's all we got.

In all of the US, there are only 4 children of Athena left. Me, Sara, Nate, and Katie. I'm not actually quite sure how the 3 of them managed to steer clear of the nationwide hunt for Athena kids a year ago, but here we are.

Camp Half-Blood had satyrs everywhere. They wanted everyone safe and together.

But that was the problem, wasn't it?

We were together.

It was an easy target. That night people were sharing beds, there was no floor space, some were curled up underneath desks. I was having trouble sleeping that night, and all the snoring wasn't helping. I decided to take a walk on the beach.

I grabbed my Yankees Cap and snuck out past harpies. They had been given the job of guarding the Athena cabin. Once I was in the clear, I sat down on the sand and stared out by the water. I couldn't have been more than 2 minutes before a soft glow began to light up the water.

I'm ashamed that I ran. I should've stayed and helped. I almost did. And then the roof collapsed, and I knew it was too late. I ran away. Soon I ran into Nate, Nate and I ran into Sara and Katie, Katie stayed home while the rest of us traveled the US running from whatever these things were.

The best I can do to describe them is, they're a knockoff version of dementors. We didn't know what they wanted, but it clearly wasn't to sit down and have tea.

Whatever they wanted, they wanted it badly. Which means that keeping it away from them was even more important.

And... now you're all caught up.

"Watch out!" Sara shot forward and pointed out the front window.

Nate quickly pulled the steering wheel as far left as he could, and then back to the right just as quick. He'd narrowly missed a tree. He'd never gotten his license and was "self-taught" as he liked to put it.

We all let out a breath we didn't know we were holding, and Sara slouched back against her seat and began to inspect her nails.

I looked my side mirror to see the tire marks Nate had left, "You know what? Next time, I'm going to drive."

Nate raised his eyebrows, "Do you even know how to drive?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. You would know that if you would actually let me talk when we get a car."

"You could have told me any other time!" He threw one hand up in the air as if this was all my fault.

"I do, and every time you say, 'Well, then, you can drive next time'!"

Sara looked up from her nails and raised one hand, "Can confirm! That is what happens!"

"No one asked you!", Nate looked up at the rearview mirror, shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh, "It only took 5 and a half hours, but they've finally given up."

Sara threw her body to the side and slumped down even further. "Oh, thank goodness! I really need to pee, but I wasn't going to say anything until we got to Katie's house."

Now, look. We should have known better. They weren't going to just disappear without putting up a fight. No, no. Almost 6 hours of non-stop driving in a stolen car weren't enough for these black hooded figures.

Nate had started to slow down the car, relaxing a little bit. He took one hand off the wheel and rubbed the sweat off on his ripped jeans. It had been stressful and all 3 of us were almost certain we were done. That is until one "dementor" appeared 5 feet in front of our car.

Nate tried to swerve again but there just so happened to be a tree there.

Trees were not our friends.

CRASH!

The car slammed, and I jerked forward so hard that I hit my head on the dashboard. Once I sat up, I locked eyes with Nate. We knew what was going to happen next.

"This is bad," Sara mumbled from the back of the car.

The 3 of us scrambled out of the car as fast as we could and began to run.

"This is bad!" Sara repeated, only this time it was louder and she was running for her life.

I glanced back at her, "You said that already!"

"It seemed," Sara took a moment to catch her breath, "worth repeating."

I nodded in agreement, and then looked at Nate. He had a sad expression on his face.

"Nate?" He turned, the best he could while running, to look at me, "You okay? You look a little... upset."

"I just..." He panted, "I really liked that car."

. . .

So the car exploded.

We weren't near it, but we heard it.

And we also knew it wasn't Nate's fault, but we blamed it on him anyway.

"You know what, Nate. I don't think we're giving you enough credit here. It takes a special kind of idiot to pull off what you just did." Sara said, walking right next to him.

Nate put his hands up in defense, "Okay, hold up-"

I glanced over and chuckled a little, "You're right, Sara. We just don't have the talent to drive a car right into a tree. You have to have the mindset to do that, and- ha, we are so lucky Nate is that much of an idiot."

Sara stood on the tip of her toes and reached up to Nate's head, and ruffled his hair before he huffed and ducked away. She spread arms out and raised her voice, "Come on, Nate. You know, we're only teasing."

"That's not it," Nate huffed, "I'm the oldest. I'm supposed to be teasing you guys. But instead, you guys a treating me like a middle child." I opened my mouth to respond, but he had beaten me to it, "Not including Katie."

"Well, Nate if you think about it, Annabeth is the middle child. And she could really care less about what either of us has to say. You're just a sensitive soul. You're easier to kid with."

I cocked my head at Sara, "What about you, though? Why can't we tease you? I'm mean, Nate's twice your size, and I have 10 times more intelligence than you do."

"Burn..." Nate whispered underneath his breath.

Sara hit his shoulder, "Because- KATIE!"

And she took off running

I was about to inform her that no, Katie wasn't always here so nothing could stop us from messing with her, but then I heard a response, "Sara!"

Now, look. If Sara, Nate and I stood side by side, we would look like triplets, and the fact that Nate could be related to a giant is the only difference. If Sara and I stood next to each other, the only way you could tell us apart was by Sara's bangs.

But, Katie hated her life as a demigod, she wanted every reminder of it gone. So she had dyed her hair brown and cut to her chin so the blonde hair wouldn't give anything away. She also wore big bulky black glasses that took away the distraction of the grey eyes. You would never know she was a child of Athena.

Needless to say, she was a rebel and she was gorgeous.

Probably because she had the time to shower and put makeup on in the morning.

Katie held Sara at arm's length and closed her eyes, " Please tell me that the bang I heard was not you."

"It wasn't," Sara said and Kaite visibly relaxed, "It was Nate."

Katie's head snapped towards so quick. Nate shrunk down beside me, which was kind of hard seeing as he was almost a head taller than me.

Katie took 2 slow steps forward, and Nate took 2 slow steps back. He put hands up and said, "Listen, Katie, it wasn't my fault, okay? It was those things again, they showed up in the middle of the road and-" He began to take bigger quicker steps away from Katie, "-and it was either hit them or the tree so I cho-"

Sara smirked at me while she called out, "Hey, Nate! Tell her about the 4 times before that you almost drove into a tree!"

Katie was being playful, we all knew that. But watching Nate get chased around by a petite girl in leggings and an oversized sweater was what we needed at that moment in time. Our lives for the past year have been one hurricane after another. Every time we saw Katie, though, it was the eye of the hurricane. There were no clouds threatening to cover the sun. It was beautiful.

Sara and I made our way to Katie porch, while Nate sprinted to the opposite side of the street, with Katie close on his trail. Sara turned around to watch them and sighed, "I miss her. I miss this."

I turned my head to look at Sara, then back at Katie. Sara was Katie's full-blooded sister. Same mom, same dad. Their dad had died a little over 3 years ago. Right after Katie turned 18, so Katie just adopted Sara. But the two of them had different paths in mind. Katie wanted nothing to do with the godly world, but Sara wanted to embrace that side of her, without getting killed. When Sara met Nate and me, her first response was to ask if she could come, too. Katie tried to keep her at home, but before we knew Sara was in the backseat reading an old newspaper and yelling out directions.

It was no secret Sara missed her, but this was the first time she had said it out loud.

"You know," I looked at the ground, "You don't need to come with Nate and I. We would understand if you wanted to stay here-"

"I don't. As much as I love Katie, for the last 3 years, before I met you guys, of course, I never left the house because I was all Katie had left and vice versa. But... you guys are my family, too. So don't even think about it. I'm with you all the way."

On the other side of the road, Nate let out another scream as Katie jumped on his back. Her glasses had fallen off her face and she was holding them in her hand. Her curly hair was all over her face. In her mouth, in her eyes. She and Nate were both panting.

Nate ran back across the street, ran right past Sara and me, and straight into the house. Sara and I followed them.

We found them spread out across the couch. Nate was definitely sitting on Katie's legs, but it didn't seem to bother her.

Sara laughed for a minute, but then darted into the bathroom out of nowhere. The 3 of us still there giggled.

"So where'd you guys go this time?" Katie asked, putting her hands behind her head and relaxing. (Of course, Nate was still on her.)

"South, all the way to Florida, then we came back up to Georgia and went West to Texas and then back here," I said, sitting on the floor.

Katie sat up on her elbows, "Oh! Texas sounds fun. What'cha do there?"

"Nate stole a BMW, sadly it was almost out of gas so we only made 30 miles before we had to find a new car."

"It was a mini-van." Nate added, "Sara found this amusing of course."

"What did I find amusing?" Sara said making her way into the kitchen.

"The fact that you had to drive a mini-," Katie's eyes widened and she pushed Nate off her legs, "Hey! Stay out of there!" She had her body pressed against the refrigerator door.

Sara looked at her oddly, " 'You have a dead body in there or something?"

Katie's eyes darted to me, and I had no clue why.

"Maybe," Katie squeaked, "And I don't want you to see it. It's big and fat and... hairy! So go sit on the couch and talk about... something... while I move the ca- DEAD BODY... to the basement."

I cocked my head in confusion.

Sara just stared, clearly wondering what the heck was happening with her sister. "Okay... If you need any help moving the body then... just let me know..."

"Nope," Katie shook her head, "All good."

Sara twirled her finger next to her right ear, signaling that Katie was nuts. I couldn't help but agree.

. . .

Once Katie moved the "dead body" to the basement, we all sat in the living and talked for a while. Every story that Sara, Nate and I told, however, was heavily sugar-coated. Katie didn't have to know about the cyclops that was now traveling around with Nate's watch stuck to his ear. And she definitely didn't need to know about the Hellhound that had a clump of Sara's hair tied to a rope around his neck. These were just things she didn't need to know.

After a while, Sara and Nate went upstairs to catch up on Netflix TV shows and Katie and I were left downstairs.

"I don't actually have a dead body downstairs," Katie said after a while.

I chuckled, "I know."

"But I do have something for you."

I scrunched my eyebrows, Katie reached out her hand for me and led me downstairs. The lights were off but there was a faint glow coming from the main room. I turned the corner to see two large candles set to the side of one small cake. It was clearly handmade because one corner of the cake didn't have any icing on it.

I looked at Katie who was leaning against the doorframe.

Katie smiled, "I ran out of icing, so just take a slice from the other side and it'll taste great!"

I turned back to the cake, "What's all this for? And why were you hiding it from Nate and Sara?"

"What's this for?" Katie repeated, "Your birthday! July 12th, right?"

I was too shocked to respond. I had forgotten my own birthday. But in my defense, I haven't seen in actual bed in over 3 weeks, much less a calendar. And they don't have a lot of signs in the middle the woods.

Birthday's had never been a big deal to me. It was just another day of the year, but I had also spent a lot of my birthdays at camp. And most of those birthdays I spent on quests. I didn't even tell a lot of people when my birthday was. Sara and Nate don't even know.

The only reason I told Katie was that she had asked when I first met her. She wanted to make sure I was an actual person, not some monster posing as a person. Which was fair, I guess. She knows the whole story, not just my birthday. Katie knows how I got to camp, how many quests I had, how left camp etc.

But I never thought she'd remember any of it.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. Katie wrapped her arms around me and set her chin on my shoulder, both of us staring at the mess of a cake on the table in front of us.

"You told me you didn't want Sara and Nate to know, remember?"

I nodded slowly in response.

"You okay, Annabeth?"

I took a deep breath, "I think so. It's just... This means I have officially been away from home for a year... I left 3 weeks before my birthday. It's been a year since I've seen my family."

"Well... I'm not saying I replaced your family... but I am saying that I am your new family. So is Nate and Sara. So don't be sad. Okay? Because as you older sister I refuse to let today be an upsetting day. Be happy! You're- wait, how old are you?"

I had to think about it for a second which made me feel worse.

"19." The realization dawned on my face

Katie raced over and picked up one of the giant candles and brought it close to my face.

"Don't make a wish because if you do it'll go to one of those weirdos in the sky and we both know that's bad," Katie said in one breath.

I laughed and blew out the candle.

Katie gently set it back down on the table, careful not to spill the wax. I walked over and turned the lights on. When I turned back around I was met with cake in my face.

I clawed the icing out of my eyes to see Katie, grinning like a maniac and her left hand covered in icing.

Oh, it's on.

. . .

 **hi! it's actually me this time!**

 **so yeah, sleepingbooknerd is a good friend of mine. she is posting this for me. (thank you, ellie you beAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING!) (ALSO! she has been giving updates in reviews if you ever wanted to know when a chapter is coming out!)**

 **but if you didn't see the A/N, my amazing brother spilled sprite all over my laptop and it's actually dead now. i have access to a school computer but they limit the sites you can go to, and is not one of them. but luckily i write all my stories on grammarly and google docs which you can access from anywhere.**

 **posting is going to take much longer now, though. because i only have 30 minutes of free computer time, and i do have to do homework during that time as well.**

 **anyway, the next chapter shouldn't be too terrible. it's not going to be like the original (if you couldn't tell by this chapter) so i have the power to do whatever i want!**

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**

 **~TellTheStars**


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